Author Archives: Andrew Bahr

About Andrew Bahr

My name is Andrew Bahr and I am Civil Engineering major at Lafayette College. I was born and raised in New York City and I had first hand experience of the worst congestion. I grew up all around it and I always thought of ways that congestion can be diminished and how the overall traffic experience can be better; this should be a flyover ramp, not a cloverleaf or this right lane should end so incoming traffic doesn't have to merge. I always had a fascination with transportation since I was little boy. I always looked out the car window and observed what streets to take to get where my family needed to go. That eventually developed in to learning the best routes and then giving directions. This is what lead me to become a transportation engineer. I began to think critically on why we are not improving our transportation system as much as we should and how unsustainable it has ultimately become. I am optimistic enough that one day we will have automobiles that do not run on fossil fuels or any transportation mode rather. This blog will post things that I feel are sustainable, unsustainable, or just interesting to think about. I hope you enjoy my posts as much as I enjoy writing them. Thanks for reading!

Increasing Speed Limits in Texas

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A new toll road is slated to open this November in Texas to relieve the congestion on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio.  The speed limit on that road will be 85mph which is now the highest in the country.  It was formally 80mph until Governor Rick Perry of Texas signed a bill to raise the speed limit.  Many drivers like this development because they can now reach their destination faster.

However, are we thinking more about drivers’ convenience rather than safety?  There is clear research that states as speeds increase, fatalities increase.  A 2009 report in the American Journal of Public Health studied traffic fatalities in the U.S. from 1995 to 2005 and found that more than 12,500 deaths were attributable to increases in speed limits on all kinds of roads.

So what is the ideal speed limit then? If we decrease it, there are less fatalities and more driver frustration.  If we increase it, it is the opposite.  I am fine with the speed limit increase.  As a driver I feel that speed limits are lower than what they should be.  If a road is designed to do 85mph, then why not let drivers drive at that speed?

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120906/us-texas-speed-limit/)

How Old is Too Old to Drive?

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There is a silent debate going on about whether there should be an age limit on driving.  This is stemmed from an overwhelming amount of accidents caused by senior drivers.  A recent report by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found the rate of deaths involving drivers 75 to 84 is about three per million miles driven – on par with teen drivers. Once they pass age 85, vehicular fatality rates jump to nearly four times that of teens.

Crash scene of the incident where the age 101 driver hit 11 people.

Every now and then there will be a report on the news about a senior driver being responsible for a car crash.  Last month, A driver who will turn 101 in September backed out of a parking lot near an elementary school in Los Angeles, plowing into 11 people, including nine children.

Should there be age limits on driving?  I would say yes and no.  I think that as we age we should be tested every now then.  I don’t know what the time period should be between tests, but I feel that we need to be more proactive about these kinds of things.  Currently, once you get a license, you will forever have one (unless you broken laws).  That means one can go for 50 years or more without taking another test to make sure they can drive.  That’s crazy!

But does this infringe on the privilege that people have to drive?  What do you think?

(http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/08/30/how-old-is-too-old-to-drive/)

(http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/100-year-old-driver-hits-children-17113689)

Should Highways Grow as Population Grows?

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Should are highway infrastructure be expanded as our population grows?  This is a question that has two answers which depend on the time period.  The answer was yes post World War II and when the President Eisenhower signed the Interstate Act of 1956.  Then people started to realize the adverse effects of highway building and the answer became no.  The highway boom of the 40s, 50s and 60s vanished.

I think that highways as well as every other form of transportation should grow as  population grows.  If a system becomes out dated we need to improve or expand it. It is vital to further our economic development that are transportation systems are up to par with demand.  

Widening of the New Jersey Turnpike.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is leading the way with their Widening Program.  The NJ Turnpike will be widened between Interchange 6 in Mansfield Township, Burlington County and Interchange 9 in East Brunswick Township, Middlesex County. The roadway will be widened to 12 lanes with major modifications constructed at four interchanges.  Construction is planned to commence during 2009 with project completion in late 2014.  (http://www.njturnpikewidening.com/)

The authority understands that the turnpike is vital to the economic growth of New Jersey and that demand on the road is increasing.  This project will reduce congestion and give drivers a better driving experience.

I understand that this is controversial and that there are many problems with my above statements. I look forward to anyone’s remarks on this topic.  Should the Turnpike Authority widen their road?  Should we do it for any road?

High Speed Rail in California Underway

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After clearing many hurdles, the state of California has allowed the selling of $2.6 billion in bonds for construction of the initial 130-mile segment of the bullet train in the Central Valley. It is the first phase of the planned 800-mile in the state.  The total cost of the project that would eventually connect Northern and Southern California is at least $68 billion.
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This is a great example of sustainability in the United States.  Train systems are the most efficient in many ways, typically emitting less carbon and using less fuel per passenger than buses.  This project will encourage some people to stop driving, decreasing emissions and congestion on the I-5 corridor (the only interstate connecting Northern and Southern California).  It will speed up people’s commutes and bring more people together.

High Speed Rail in America has struggled for decades, but now we are finally underway. California is yet again taking initiative in the transportation realm and I look forward to the day the first high speed rail line that can be opened in America; one that can be competitive with Europe’s or Japan’s network.

 

Impact of Rising Gas Prices on our Transportation

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It is well known that gasoline prices are rising everywhere in the world and this has a direct impact on our transportation choices.  Gas prices are almost at $4 per gallon of regular and as gasoline prices continue to rise people are less likely to drive to their destinations.  A new report from the American Public Transportation Association finds that $4 per-gallon gas prices could result in an additional 670 million public transit passenger trips.  If pump prices jump to $5 a gallon, the report predicts an additional 1.5 billion passenger trips can be expected.  (http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2011/03/the-impact-of-high-gas-prices.php)

Gasoline prices are rising because it is becoming increasingly harder to find and drill for oil.  The current transportation modes of choice are becoming more and more unsustainable and something must be done to curtail this trend.  We need to invest more in alternative sources of energy and get our environmental record out of the gutter and back on track.

Second Avenue Subway in NYC

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The light blue line is the Second Avenue Subway Line that is now under construction. The faded green line just to the left is the existing line that will be relieved. The yellow line is an existing train line that will expand its service on the northern portion of the Second Avenue Line.

Stopped completely twice due to budgetary problems and taking over 70 years to complete, the Second Avenue Subway Line on the east side of Manhattan is finally coming to fruition.  It is designed to relieve congestion on the Lexington Avenue Line only three avenues to the west and provide more access on the east side.  It will finally be completed in April of 2018.

However, there is something on my mind that bothers me.  The existing line just three avenues west has a four track configuration while the second avenue line has a two track configuration (Refer to Figure 1).  If I want to get uptown or downtown the fastest possible, I am more likely going to take the existing line then the new one because of the express trains.

I do understand that it will provided more access on the east side and that is a great thing for the future growth along the east side.  I only wish that they would have continued with the four track plan that has express stations as originally proposed, but due to the overwhelming cost, it was cancelled.

(http://secondavenuesagas.com/2011/09/27/east-side-access-completion-date-postponed-to-2018/)

Suburban Sprawl

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An example of suburban sprawl.

A result of the transformation of the American Highway System in the 50s and 60s, the interstate has lead to wide spread horizontal growth in regions outside of the main city center.  It has cemented the age of the automobile in our society for generations and there is no end in sight.  Most people can only travel between their home and the supermarket or the gym by car.

Horizontal suburban sprawl has led to the demise of the train and bus because there is no warrant to have service in a low density place.  It wouldn’t be viable.  If we were to somehow manage to control the growth of the horizontal sprawl and instead have it as vertical sprawl then a public transportation system may be warranted to serve that area because of the higher density of people (more customers).  However, the US government is encouraging such growth with low gasoline taxes relative to European nations and a lack of incentives to encourage mass transit.  It encourages people to drive and live farther away from work which leads to more gasoline consumption.  With petroleum products running out, I predict that there would be a rise in people moving closer to the work place or back to thecenter city.

New Hudson River Crossing in New York City? Part I

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As a resident of New York City I am appalled at the traffic congestion I experience on a regular basis when I cross the Hudson River into New York.  I always have to listen to the radio to see which of the two tunnels*, the Holland or Lincoln has the least congestion.  It varies, but they could be as much as one hour to cross through!  I can’t take it!  There hasn’t been a new vehicular crossing built in over 75 years**.

So, why not build a new crossing to relieve congestion?   It is widely known that delays on the road contribute to billions of dollars in loss productivity each year.  Or maybe there is a reason to why no new crossing has been built.  Maybe the government wants people to stop driving into the city and cut down on pollution, but there hasn’t been a new train crossing in almost a century.  That is overly congested too and it doesn’t make sense.  A new crossing must be built to accommodate the new demand.

*There are a total of three crossings between New York City which includes the two tunnels aforementioned and the George Washington Bridge.

**A new lower level was added to the George Washington Bridge in 1962 to accommodate its increasing demand.  (http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/gwb-facts-info.html)

Traffic backup to go to New York City through the Holland Tunnel during rush hour. The Holland Tunnel sign is seen 1/2 mile ahead.

Supply and Demand

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New transportation projects require two things to be successful and that is what supplies the transportation project and what demands it.  For example residents in a community agree to pay an additional tax to have a new train line service them.  The people’s taxes are the supply (or money) for the project as well as the people demand additional train service to their growing community.  This is obviously a simple example for a complex relationship.  Unfortunately politics is heavily integrated within any transportation project and sometimes we cannot retrieve both supply and demand.  For example, the Hudson River crossings between New York City and New Jersey are at over capacity.  There is a clear demand for additional crossings, but there is not supply driving such projects because it is almost political suicide.  No politician will ever support another crossing because no one wants to spend the money or take away land from citizens for the right of way.